–Oliver, don't make things up. According to Arai scientists, only 7 out of 10 abandoned estates have the evil lurking inside. We've got a 30% chance there's nothing there!
With an intelligent look and a satisfied smile, Cirael voiced the statistics she had just made up as the four looked at the building in front of them. The moss-covered stonewalls, broken windows, and ajar front doors beckoned for a peek – that's what Clain and company were looking at. The only thing missing was a thunderstorm with lightning in the background. The winged one approached the door and raised the index finger of her right hand, and a beam of light shone on it. Cirael opened the door with her other hand and stepped inside, gesturing for everyone to follow. The light from her hand illuminated a large hall with a red carpet leading to a two-way staircase. But it turned out that this magical "lantern" created by the girl was not necessary – candle-lights began to light up one by one along the walls of the hall, soon illuminating the room completely.
–Apparently, we don't have that 30% chance, Ciri, – Oliver said with a shrug.
–Yeah, someone was... clearly waiting for us here, – Sean said in a shaky voice, looking around.
–And by the looks of it, – Ciel said, running her finger across the floor and finding a thick layer of dust on it, – stopped waiting a long time ago. Apparently, this greeting was prepared by some magic and forgotten after it. Nobody's cleaned this place in centuries... as a maid, I find it disgusting.
–As if it's not enough for you to clean our mansion...
After muttering that, Oliver walked forward, sidestepping his wife. He didn't even seem to mind that they were in such a place – it's even more interesting that way. Not giving his companions time to react, he ran up the stairs and turned around, waiting for the others to come up. Smiling slightly, Cirael extinguished the beam of light on her finger with a thought and followed her husband, while Sean and Ciel followed her. To Oliver's disappointment and the joy of the others, the hallways were empty – no sudden ambushes, traps, or trite jampscares usually found in such buildings. The dark, gloomy corridor, which the four of them walked down not like thieves and not on tiptoe, led them to a large room, at the end of which, as if on a podium, a man sat in a chair.
He was dressed in many layers of clothing, with a gray short-sleeved hoodie on top and a black robe adorned with several chains of precious metals underneath. The stranger removed strands of light blue hair from his right eye and glanced at the heroes who had entered the room without turning his head.
–I've been waiting for you, actors, – said the man in a benevolent voice. Only Ciel, with her sensitivity to emotions, caught the contempt.
–Just how long did you prepare for this? Or did you improvise on the spot? – Sean asked in response, realizing that this someone had probably been waiting here for them for a while.
However, the unknown man did not understand the joke, so his face, though for but a few seconds, crumpled up in anger, but he suppressed the negative feelings and replied:
–You know, I waited for a long time. Do you know how Deuses I had to pull out of Machinas to get you here? I know, Kai's influence is strong, but you could have stuck to the script.
Clain and company looked at each other in surprise. Ciel nodded to the others, and they prepared to fight, just in case. However, the unknown man was in no hurry to attack. He rose up from his chair and a cane appeared under his right arm, as if out of thin air, on which he leaned.
–Now, now, why fight right away? I just thought I'd introduce myself to the main cast. After all, those on stage should know the faces of the audience in the front rows. My name is Kayen... yes, I suppose that works.
Leaning on his cane like a true gentleman, he showed no aggression. The others may not have known it, but Cirael knew that skilled fighters could easily hide their desire to kill.
–Well... you introduced yourself. Now what? Are you going to tell us how smart you are, how you arranged everything for us to come here and how you set a trap?
–Now, now, Oliver, come on. That would be too simple, and far too clichéd, – Kayen replied to Clain.
–Аh. So an abandoned mansion where the lights light themselves isn't a cliché, huh? Or maybe the fact that you know my name for some reason is not a cliché? You have a... rather interesting idea of clichés, I must say, – Oliver said, barely containing his laughter.
Kayen grimaced again, then raised his cane and pointed it at Oliver. Everyone looked up, but nothing happened.
–You tell me, Clain. If, all of a sudden, right now in the scenario, you had that "Hate Breakdown" of yours that your friends couldn't suppress in the beginning, would they survive?
The expressions on the faces of the four non-heroes soured. If they really couldn't nip Oliver's mental breakdown at the very start, they were in for a rough ride. But surely this stranger was bluffing... right? After all, what scenario could he be talking about if they were here unintentionally and even managed to confuse this supposedly omniscient stranger with facts and logic?
–Stop talking in riddles and answer me. What do you want? Keep it short and simple, – Sean said in an ultimatum.
–Now, now, it's not right for characters to put up conditions to the audience. But okay. Your play is probably about to be blown away by tomatoes flying onto the stage anyway, so why don't I throw the first one? For example, what would happen if I said I had the power to stop the events of 162 years ago? Even now I could rewrite these unfortunate events. Wouldn't you, Oliver, like to see your family again and, well...
–No. I have a different family now, and if the past were changed, I would lose what I have now. And what I have now I would not trade for all the riches in the world... although the price is always negotiable.
Oliver took Kayen's words about the events of that night surprisingly well and didn't give in to the provocation. He spoke confidently enough, and his voice didn't waver. Ciel felt that it was just a facade, though – negative emotions were growing in her Master by the second, but they were suppressed. The fact that Oliver often made jokes, including quite offensive and inappropriate ones – was one of his defense mechanisms that diverted his emotions away from Hate. Right now, though, he was keeping his cool and showing no signs of....
–Hm. What do you have now? A servant who only follows you around for sustenance? A friend who will die, because that always happens to the protagonist's friends?
Kayen's words threw everyone off balance. Cirael drew her sword, Sean pulled out some scalpels, and Oliver frowned and glared at Kayen. Ciel, on the other hand, with no combat ability, took a couple steps back and pointed her hand at Clain, absorbing at least some of his hatred.
–Oh, I know! Your wife, of course! Yes, Cirael Clain, with whom you love each other unselfishly and honestly... yes, I suppose it's a good thing we forced her on you. That's all right. We can just as well at any point of our desire have her... – Kayen had no sooner finished saying this than Cirael was already flying at him with sword in swing, scalpels were flung towards him, and also Kayen was surrounded by a ball of swords aimed at him, but he still managed to say the last word,– ...erased.
Cirael, Sean, Ciel, as well as scalpels and swords, and even the walls of the building were blown apart. The stonewalls that had looked so solid shattered from the energy that collided with them. The black energy, as if devouring light like black holes, shone upward to where Oliver was standing. The man himself was no longer visible – he was completely engulfed by the pillar of magic... no, it didn't feel like magic. On the contrary, it felt like magic couldn't exist next to this... thing. From the mere shockwave created by this energy, everything but Oliver and Kayen shattered and flew apart, hundreds of meters or even kilometers away. Clouds of dust rose up, hiding what had become of the two of them, who were literally left in the air where the estate had once been.
But with a clang of metal, the dust cleared to reveal the two men. Vantablack energy spewed from Oliver's body and clothing everywhere, and the black flames it created streamed from his shoulder blades, forming a silhouette that looked like wings. In his hand was an equally black sword, and black was its single color, including the hilt. The clothes on his front and back had a hole at the level of his chest. As the scene came into view, it was clear that they were in the air – the estate was now a huge crater, many times the size of the original building. Yet neither Oliver nor Kayen had fallen.
Clang of metal happened when Oliver brought his sword down on Kayen, who was literally standing in mid-air. But the man who spoke in riddles wasn't smiling cheekily for nothing – between him and Oliver was another unknown man, dressed in a gray cloak with a hood that hid his face as well; in other words, this third man was copying the most generic appearance of "The Grim Reaper". He also had a scythe, by the way, with a twisted shaft, gilded at the end, and a comically long blade. It was that garden tool he used to hold back Oliver's sword, though the trembling in his arms made it clear that even "Death" hardly holds back Clain's strike.
The three of them "stood" in such a pose, frozen in the air, for several seconds. Not a sound was heard during that time. Only the sound of the wind and the crackling of the flames broke the silence. Suddenly, a thud came from the side of Kayen's back – Cirael, returning at hypersonic speed from her recent involuntary flight, attempting to cut down the one who had caused her husband's mental breakdown. Unfortunately, her flaming sword collided with the barrier protecting Kayen from behind and stopped. Even though the situation was not in favor of the non-heroes, the cloaked man said in a voice that made it impossible to understand his gender:
–Kayen, let's go! You've already done wrong everything you could!
Kayen sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He turned to Clain, restrained by "Death with a Scythe":
–How ironic. That black energy, the energy of Hate, is pouring out of your soul. Yet your face is apathetic, devoid of emotion. Well, the acquaintance is over, the tomato is thrown. Come on, Odysseus.
The two strangers, Kayen and Odysseus, disappeared without a trace. The scythe that held the black sword was also gone. Seemingly unable to distinguish enemies from allies, Oliver continued to strike, aiming the blade at his wife. Cirael, who had always been physically stronger than her husband, did not block the blow, but stepped aside. She had seen Oliver in such a state before, and she knew that when the head of the family gives in to his hatred, he became many times stronger, like a berserker, and now she was unable to fight on equal terms.
Fortunately, the angel was more agile than the "Berserker of Hate" in the air, so the black sword missed the girl. The black sword passed by the girl, and Oliver flew downwards. Whether it was kinetic energy from the impact or he did it on purpose is unknown, but he reached the center of the crater, which was 40 meters below the rest of the ground, in a thousandth of a second. Upon reaching the bottom, Oliver immediately plunged his blade into the ground, creating a pillar of black energy that rose into the air and covered a radius of hundreds of meters. Cirael, despite her speed and reaction, couldn't escape in time.
At this point, Sean and Ciel arrived at the former site of the mansion, which was now nothing more than a crater with small pieces of earth and walls scattered about. They were lucky they hadn't gotten too close, or the upward flow of energy would have covered them. That's what they saw: a black, absurdly wide column, going up far beyond the clouds, that began to dissipate. From somewhere above, the silhouette of a person with wings fell, and Sean realized that it was probably Cirael. Though they couldn't see her in detail, her armor was twisted and partially shattered, and her limbs were so twisted that it was clear most of her bones were broken, whether the winged one was still alive or not. However, her piercing scream over the pain indicated that she was alive.
At the same time, as the column of energy dissipated, Oliver began to rise from the crater, flying without a flap of his wings. In both hands, he held a sword so black that the concept of light was meaningless. Clain, who had lost control of himself of Hate, hold his sword and waited until the maiden, who was unable to change her fall trajectory. Looks like Oliver indeed was ready to end her life and presumably take on the others who were nearby. There was no emotion in his face, let alone indecision. He was ready to kill the one he was supposed to protect... even though it was usually Cirael who protected him. And worst of all, it happened so fast that Sean and Ciel could only watch. Of course, Sean could have reached them in time, since he controlled time... but they were in the air, and Sean's physical abilities were on level of a normal human. The surgeon bit his lip and the maid turned away. She couldn't bear to watch...
But there was no strike. When Cirael was next to Oliver, Oliver's arms shook, and the angel flew past, crashing headfirst into the ground. And considering that Oliver had previously landed at over 40,000 meters per second, the crater was many times deeper, and because of the energy column, wider. Of course, this fall was not enough to actually hard Cirael. But the impact, combined with the pain caused by the Hate energy, was enough to knock her unconscious.
Oliver slowly lowered himself down and forward, soon landing on the edge of the crater. He lowered his arms, letting the sword fall and disintegrate before it hit the ground. Clain, still as emotionless as before, raised his head, clasped his hands over it, and screamed in what seemed to be several overlapping voices. Sean tried to shout over the deafening noise:
–Ciel, go on and conjure up your anti-emotional stuff, he needs to be saved!
As the maid began to take steps toward Oliver with great difficulty, as if something was pushing her backward, the surgeon pulled three syringes from under his robe and removed some kind of vial from his belt. By some miracle, neither was destroyed as it flew off a kilometer or more. The doctor poured the contents of vials into the syringes and inhaled deeply. When he did, he held his breath and time froze around him. Nothing moved and the sounds disappeared. Keeping the air inside, he ran up to Oliver and threw the syringes at him, pointing forward so that they almost touched his neck. After all, in stopped time, you can't hurt objects that can't move in it. After he threw his "weapons", he began hitting the syringes with force to build up kinetic energy, and after about 30 seconds of this seemingly futile activity, he stepped back and finally exhaled.
As soon as the air left his lungs, time resumed and the syringes plunged into Oliver's neck with tremendous force, injecting their contents thanks to that kinetic energy Sean built up. After a second or two, however, the pressure of what seemed to be blood became so great that the black liquid from inside Clain filled the syringes. Sean inhaled sharply, and when he exhaled, he already held those 3 syringes full of black liquid in his hands. For a few seconds, the black liquid still flowed from Oliver's neck, but soon the wounds were completely healed.
Affected by the contents of the syringes, Oliver's scream became sluggish and the energy emanating from him diminished. This was a signal for Ciel, who changed from a nearly impossible stride to a sprint, and when she was within ten paces of her master, she pointed her hand at him, who was consumed by hatred. Wings of black flame seemed to be scattered by the wind and vanished. Oliver himself fell to his knees, his hands dropping and his head lowering. The black energy ceased to emanate and the remnants were absorbed by Ciel. Barely raising his arms, Oliver slammed into the ground with his last ounce of strength, the impact being like a small earthquake. And while Ciel and Sean fell as the ground seemed to jump after Clain's strike, Oliver himself fell sideways, unconscious for the second time in a week. Still, he seemed to have been saved from madness. For now.